Party Game @ Traverse at the Wee Red Bar

A whimsical, slightly baffling piece of immersive theatre, Party Game makes for an entertaining evening – especially after the audience have tanked their complimentary drinks

Review by Cat Acheson | 16 Aug 2017

Aiming to replicate a surprise party that we are all supposedly in on, Party Game brings the audience to the fitting location of the Wee Red Bar for an all-singing, all-dancing event that aims to interrogate ideas of grief, friendship, and broken bonds.

Performers from Canada’s Bluemouth Inc. and Necessary Angel Theatre Company welcome the audience to a surprise party for the mysterious 'Stephen', and invite us to assist with the preparations. Clues about Stephen’s story are slowly revealed in snatches of dialogue, music and dance. A live band gives the performance an upbeat, homespun feel, but there is a certain level of disorganised chaos in the proceedings that leaves the audience at a bit of a loss. While the show’s isolated elements of storytelling, contemporary dance and song are compelling, an overall coherence never really emerges.

The conviction of the performers is undoubtable, but their attempts to convey Stephen as a complex and flawed character are overshadowed somewhat by the meandering pace and lack of direction in the play as a whole. That said, the show’s interactive elements just about manage to keep the audience on board, as we are challenged to engage with our own stories and conceptions of love. Overall, Party Game is more effective in showcasing innovative theatre techniques than in saying anything new about the human condition, but it’s still worth a watch. 


Party Game, Traverse Theatre at the Wee Red Bar, until 20 Aug, 8.30pm, £21.50 / £16.50 / £9.50